Hi there, I need some ideas about the long term online businesses. Any help will be appreciated. Regards bushib
Running a forum. Look at DP, its on autopilot now, and they earn alot by the day. I have a few forums that i started like 3 years ago and now they run by themselves and bring in good profit.
ecommerce is another long-term business model. Almost all can be slower to start up, but normally can sustain traffic with a repeatable marketing plan. I'm a huge fan of ecommerce businesses.
I personally think niche blogs that are updated 2-3 times a week can be a long term gig that will get more successful as you go.
I wouldn't say DP is exactly on auto-pilot as they have many mod's on here daily deleting and changing things but I guess you are saying it isn't as much work as running a website with content. I would say anything e-commerce would be your best bet long-term if you have your own products to sell or niche products. Blogs and websites can be good to but most people do not make a ton of money from them.
Long term businesses are run by people with foresight. Have it, then stay on course. Whether running forum, e-commerce, or something else it can die short term if you don't TENDER your business. But think of your own product you can control in the course of making a decision
No one can predict the future. However as long as there is an internet there will be tools required to access it. It's a communication medium. So if you want true long term you can pick an opportunity that leverages the access.
Create a product (information product, desktop software, web application, physical product...) and then sell it. Crazy concept that has only been around for a few thousand years I don't think any other form of business is more reliable than one selling something that is of actual value to a customer.
Just start any online business that you think you can keep it *alive* even if it doesn't show the results in the short term. Internet is growing better than what one might think. I'm sure in the long term, your business would succeed. Most of the businesses fail in the very first year. Best Wishes!
Considering that original authoritative sites dominate the web, choose a topic you have experience and knowledge in. Find a way to package what you know in a format which would be of value to (many) others. Update your site with fresh new content, and be vigilent with those who try to siphon your work (scrapers). The web has demonstrated that there are unlimited topics of interest to others. There must be something you are enthusiastic about which would be of interest to others. If, on the other hand, you look at a web enterprise as just a business, and your own personal contributions (authoring) will have to be supplemented with purchased content, you're already on a tougher tier. *Valuable" user contributed content (such as in forums, or review sites) can be a good source of content and establish a targeted theme to monetize.
You can make websites or you can start doing freelance work or you can do both. Affiliate business is also an option.